The bishop asked Michael and I to talk on missionary work. What a wonderful topic to speak on. I love missionary work and what it does not only for the person performing the work but also for the person that is being taught. Missionary Work is so important.
I once heard a talk given about a missionary. It was a few years ago and I don’t remember it exactly but I remember the importance of the message and would like to share it with you. The missionary that was spoken of was really struggling as a new missionary. I’m sure that most missionaries struggle when they are newly out in the field. He was not as prepared as he thought he would be to wake up early every morning, walk and walk and walk, be rejected over and over again, not watch TV, not listen to his favorite songs on the radio, and to eat every version of Ramen he could possibly think of. As he struggled, though, he prayed. He prayed for strength and understanding of his mission and why it was important for little him to be out in the mission field. Despite his prayers he still struggled. One evening, close to the end of the month, he went out with his last dollars and bought a loaf of bread and six bananas. Those things mixed with the few things he had at home would last him to the end of the month but he knew he would still need to ration so he wouldn’t go hungry. The following day several missionaries met at his apartment during their lunch break. After all the missionaries left, he went into the kitchen and found his loaf of bread almost gone and all of his bananas eaten. He was discouraged more then ever. Why would Heavenly Father let all of these other missionaries eat his food when he needed it so badly? Why was he serving? What difference was he making? After lunch he and his companion set out again. Despite his want to go home he still served next to his companion but thinking that his days as a missionary were soon going to come to an end. As soon as their last appointment ended the woman whom they were teaching got up and went into the kitchen. While the missionaries were preparing to leave the struggling missionary was called into the kitchen. In the woman’s hand was a bag. Keep in mind she knew nothing of the missionary’s struggles. He slowly walked towards her and opened the bag. Inside he found a loaf of bread and six bananas; nothing more and nothing less. This story was told to the missionary’s mission president on the last day of his mission after he served a full two years.
After knowing that, how can we deny the importance of missionary work?
I want to do a short activity. Will everyone just close his or her eyes? In your head picture to you what a missionary looks like. Ok, open them. Now will the Elders in the room please stand. By the raise of hand who pictured someone that looked a lot like these elders standing here? I know I did.
I believe that if we were to ask Heavenly Father to do the same activity He would see you and me. He would see every home teacher, visiting teacher, primary president, young woman’s advisor, and bishop. He would see every member of this church as a missionary.
We have to ask ourselves, what is a missionary? In the book Preach my Gospel, missionaries are defined as, “Representatives of Jesus Christ, who can teach people with power…that ‘redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah,’ and that no one ‘can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah’”. (2 Nephi 2:6,8)
After being baptized you become a representative of this church; a representative of Christ. So even though some of us are not in the right position to leave our homes and serve for either 18 months or 2 years we can still be missionaries.
We have to ask ourselves, though, when and where do we share the gospel? While I was working for Panera Bread I was, I’m afraid to admit, a little timid about sharing the gospel. Since Prop 8 had recently passed and there were several people I worked with that were very much against Prop 8 I was scared of what alienation I would face. Instead I just served as an example and did the best I could. As you could probably guess people did notice that I acted different than most. I never drank coffee (even though I had to be to work by 5:00AM), I didn’t take a smoke break, I was always honest, and outside of work I never dressed immodest. So, people started to ask questions and IT got out. I was a Mormon. I was horrified at first. Here I was a 22 years old woman who had been to the temple several times and I was afraid that my coworkers knew I was a member. What I found out, though, is that people generally don’t care if you are a member or not they just want to know more. With that I had the opportunity to clarify a lot of fuzzy ideas and help people get to know the church in the proper way. Even from it one of my really good friends from work came to church with me one Sunday just because she wanted to see what it was like.
Point of my story: I don’t think that there is a wrong place or wrong time to share the gospel. If you remain close to the spirit, He will guide you to teach to serve whenever or wherever needed.
So how do we do it? In a talk by Elder Don R. Clarke titled “Learning to Share the Gospel” he explains the best way to share as a member missionary. “We may begin by inviting people to our home, a sporting event, a Church activity, or a service project. Small steps to fellowship others will eventually lead to spiritual conversations, invitations to attend Church, and interest in listening to the missionaries. Remember that sharing the gospel is a process, not an event. Our example is critical, but it is not the end. We must have the courage to reach out because people will not usually invite themselves.”
At this point I want to talk a little bit more about example. I know that not any person is this room is perfect. I’m sure, at times, we feel like most people are much more perfect than us but we must not fall into that trap. We all have strengths that we can show and share with others. We also have weaknesses that we can work on. Either way we can stand as an example in the best way we know how.
Now back to how we share:
Dallin H. Oaks once said in a talk called “Sharing the Gospel,” “As with so many other things, sharing the gospel begins with desire. If we are to become more effective instruments in the hands of the Lord in sharing His gospel, we must sincerely desire to do so. I believe we acquire this desire in two steps.
First, we must have a firm testimony of the truth and importance of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This includes the supreme value of God’s plan for His children, the essential position of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in it, and the role of The Church of Jesus Christ in carrying out that plan in mortality.
Second, we must have a love for God and for all of His children. In modern revelation we are told that “love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify [us] for the work” (D&C 4:5). The early Apostles of this dispensation were told that their love should “abound unto all men” (D&C 112:11).”
Desire: where does that come from? I want you to take a moment to think about what the church does for you. Whether you become a member of this church 52 years ago or yesterday you need to remember why it is you joined. You have to really think about what brings you back every Sunday. I know why I come back every Sunday; the gospel brings me blessings beyond belief.
When Michael and I first moved to California we were living off a GIANT loan we took out before moving, school loans, and Michael’s job. We were living pretty well. Then, Michael started school in January 2008. We had both decided, before moving to California, that Michael would work as little as possible so he could focus on school. With that knowledge Michael quit his job just before Christmas and I had no job at all. We figured that when we got back from our Christmas vacation we would just find jobs then. Holy cow, that was not as easy as it sounded. Michael and I made NO income in the month of January. Yet, somehow, we made it. We paid rent, had food, had enough for gas, and a little teeny tiny extra to go to some cheap fast food place for a “night out.” I have no question in my mind where this blessing came from.
I fast forward three months later. I had found two jobs and Michael found one. We were struggling. After a couple of food orders from the church we realized we just weren’t making it. With me traveling to the City every day and Michael driving to Emeryville we knew we needed to move closer and we prayed for help. Our tax return was just enough to get us moved. Even though Emeryville is expensive but by nothing short of a miracle we were able to find a one-bedroom apartment in walking distance of Michael’s school at a price that was cheaper then what we were paying in Vallejo.
I fast-forward a few years after that. Michael and I were called to serve as a Ma and Pa in the Pioneer Trek last summer. Michel and I were a little nervous to go. Besides that fact that teenagers are scary Michael had just graduated from school and needed to get started on looking for jobs. But our bishop continued to…let’s call it encourage…. us to go. After a long meeting we decided to go. The bishop, Michael, and me ended the meeting in prayer. In this prayer the bishop said, “Please have this trek help Michael find a job.” Michael met his current boss on the trek and it is because of this boss that Michael was able to get the job.
These are three of many, many, many blessings that the gospel have offered us. Why would I not want to share that with others? While you sit and think of the blessings in your life how can you not want to share those blessings with others?
I have one more activity. Think about your life whether it be directly or indirectly have you been affected by missionary work. Whether it be in receiving the blessings of being a missionary or the blessings of being taught by missionaries. Everyone who has been please stand. Missionary work is so important.
I would just like to close with my tesitmoy.
Thank you so much for your inspirational blog. I tune in every Monday. Obviously I feel that missionary work is exceedingly important and I wholeheartedly recognize the blessings I have received from the gospel. Thanks friend.
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